A Little Bit Of Truth
by AlwaysPrentiss
Summary: Sequel to Beginnings Are Usually Scary! Emily struggled her way into the FBI, but how will she handle it? Friendships are reformed, others are made, and relationships build, but not everything will be quite so simple.
1. Chapter 1

A/N - We're back with the sequel! Chapters for this are going to be posted at alternate times to the chapters for our other story, so I have no idea when this will be updated next, but we have plans and hopefully it won't be too long.

* * *

Chapter 1 -

"Mum, you're running around like a headless chicken."

Thirteen. Thirteen years old was the age Emily had decided that she wanted to join the FBI when she was older, and after she had gotten pregnant with Kayla she had accepted the fact that she wouldn't get her dream, but now, nearly twenty years later, she was all but running around her kitchen preparing for her first day in the FBI, the BAU no less, being mocked by her eighteen year old daughter.

"Yeah, yeah, I know. I think I've forgotten something, though, and I have no idea what it is," the older brunette agreed, rolling her eyes with a huff when she felt her daughter's hands on her shoulders, stilling her movements.

"Mum, just breathe. You have everything; I've watched you check your bag six times already," Kayla replied with a laugh, gently pushing her mother backwards and into one of the chairs around the table. "Will you please calm down?"

"I'm sorry," Emily sighed, resting her head in her hands to try and stop herself from checking her bag again. "Sorry, I'm just nervous."

"You don't say," Kayla teased, shaking her head playfully as she watched her mother sigh once more. "You're going to be fine, mum. You made it! You worked hard to get into the FBI and now you're there. They clearly want you or they wouldn't have hired you, so you have nothing to be nervous about."

"Can you please stop having smart and comforting things to say? I'm pretty sure as the parent I'm supposed to be the one with the good ideas," Emily requested, though she couldn't help but smile at her daughter's comforting words.

"Mum, you had a baby at fifteen and then worked your way into one of the most dangerous jobs you can have, so please, try that one again when you actually do have a good idea," the younger brunette shot back, laughing at how quickly Emily's mouth opened in shock. "Love you!"

Who was she kidding, she might have said that she wanted her daughter to stop, but really, everything she was doing was helping. Emily had no idea how, but Kayla always seemed to know how to make her to feel better, no matter what the situation. Pulling her head out of her hands she looked up at Kayla, laughing quietly at the smirk that was spread across her face.

"How is it possible that your mocking me actually makes me feel a lot better?"

"You're odd, that's why, but back to the point; have you calmed down now?"

"I'm calm, thank you," Emily told her truthfully, her nerves calming slightly thanks to her daughter's words.

"Good, because I was afraid you were going to have a complete freak out on me. I am seriously proud of you, though, mum," Kayla admitted quietly, shrugging at her mother's raised eyebrow. "Yeah, I know, I'm the kid, you're the parent, it's supposed to be the other way around, but you had me, you took care of me when I was sick and you still made it to your dream job. I'm proud of you."

* * *

"You've replaced Elle?"

"I thought we were doing fine without her?"

"Who's the new agent?"

There was the questioning he expected. After his meeting with their newest agent earlier that morning, Aaron Hotchner had known that he needed to tell his team and prepare them for the change before Emily Prentiss came back to the BAU and started her first official work day. All of them had liked Elle, he knew that, and all of them felt the loss of her departure, but he had been pressured by the higher ups to hire a new agent, and when he had read Emily Prentiss' file he had known that she was it; she was the missing piece in their team.

"I haven't replaced Elle, the new agent is her own person and she's just as capable at her job, we are doing fine without another agent however I was pressured by the higher ups to complete the team again, and her name is Emily Prentiss," he explained, watching Morgan and Rossi roll their eyes, almost in unison, at the mention of their bosses.

"You've met her?"

"I have, I met with her this morning," Hotch told them, still seeing the skepticism in their faces despite the nods that went around the room.

"Prentiss, though. Where have I heard that before?"

"My mother, probably. Ambassador Elizabeth Prentiss."

Not exactly how she wanted to start her first day at the BAU. Emily loved her mother, of course she did, and their relationship had improved greatly since their conversation after Kayla's birth, however that wasn't what she wanted to be known for. She wanted to be known as a capable agent, not as Emily Prentiss, daughter of an Ambassador, because she knew that if that was all she was known as then nobody would believe that she got into the FBI on her own terms. Nobody would believe that hard work got her there, they'd think that her mother's connections did, and that wasn't what she wanted at all.

"Sorry I'm late, boss man, the other team needed me to find information for them, but now I am here, so what is this-" Garcia began as she walked into the conference room, stopping as she finally looked up from the tablet in her hands, her eyes widening when she saw her childhood best friend standing on the other side of the room. "Oh my god… Emily Prentiss as I live and breathe."

"Penelope! Wow, I haven't-" the brunette began, those being the only words she managed to get out before she was engulfed in a hug, laughing as she almost instantly flashed back to the many times she had gotten herself out of them when she was younger. "You still hug until I can't breathe, huh?"

"I've always hugged, but when I haven't seen your beautiful face in so long? Yes, I hug until you can't breathe. You're my new person?"

"If by that you mean am I the new agent on the team then yes, I am, but wouldn't you technically say that I'm your… old, returning person?"

"Whatever, miss technical. God, it's really good to see you, Em."

"Ladies?" Hotch interrupted, he along with the rest of the team staring in confusion as they watched what was clearly a reunion between friends happen in front of them. "Garcia, as you clearly know Agent Prentiss better than I do, maybe you should do the proper introductions."

* * *

So there we go, the first chapter. Reviews are love!


	2. Chapter 2

A/N - We're back! The third section of this chapter is not only a conversation, but it's also kind of a back story; a small explanation as to what went on in the time between the end of Beginnings Are Usually Scary and the start of this story.

* * *

"_Ladies?" Hotch interrupted, he along with the rest of the team staring in confusion as they watched what was clearly a reunion between friends happen in front of them. "Garcia, as you clearly know Agent Prentiss better than I do, maybe you should do the __proper introductions."_

* * *

Chapter 2.

"Ah, yes, er... yes. I'll do that, sir."

Eighteen years. Well... nearly eighteen years if she was being specific, but that was how long it had been since she had seen one of her closest friends. Kayla had been six months old when they lost touch, there was so much that she had missed, and now she was being asked to introduce Emily to her team; her family, like she had seen her only yesterday.

"I'll definitely do that," the perky blonde stuttered as she finally let Emily breathe again, quickly turning towards the team and pulling Emily beside her. "Well... guys, this is Emily, obviously, but you already know that because you've already- never mind. Em, this is our team. My gorgeous blonde over there is Jennifer Jareau, but we call her JJ," Garcia began, pointing to the team member she was talking about as she introduced them to Emily. "Next around the table is our resident genius Doctor Spencer Reid, and beside him is my chocolate hunk Derek Morgan; keep your hands off, he's mine," she continued, sending a wink in her friends direction when the brunette laughed softly at her threat. "Next to him is our famous author David Rossi, and that tall, dark and handsome man currently glaring at me is our boss, whom you already know," she finished with a smile, gently bumping her shoulder against Emily's as her words came to an end. "Welcome to the family, gumdrop."

"Hi," Emily greeted the team with a laugh, rolling her eyes playfully at her friend's introductions. "And Penelope, they've known me all of five minutes. Let's not go welcoming me into the family yet, okay?"

"Yes, but I've known you since forever and my family is their family," Garcia explained simply, shooting a 'stop arguing' look at her friend when she heard her take a breath to talk again. "This team is a family."

* * *

"Hey. Emily, right?"

Three hours. The beginning of her first day at the FBI's Behavioral Analysis Unit had begun three hours previous, and despite the fact that the only thing she had done was paperwork, Emily had to admit that she was strangely happy. The new people around her, the new environment, it was all strange, but she couldn't help the smile that sat comfortably on her face, and had done since she had arrived. She wasn't one for self-praise, but she also couldn't help but think of her daughter's words earlier that morning. Her daughter was proud of her for her achievements, and if she was honest, she too felt pride of the things she had achieved and the people she had proved wrong. The team, though, were a different story. Each of them seemed lovely in their own ways, and she was more than happy to be reunited with her high school friend, but before she had even stepped foot inside the FBI building, Emily had made the decision not to tell them about her daughter. It was not that she was ashamed, no, her daughter was her world no matter how old she had been, but from a lifetime of experience she knew that once people found out that she had been a teenage mother, any faith in her abilities went out of the window and they instead gave her judging looks. Turning at the voice behind her, she smiled at the man who's desk was beside hers, having already shared a long conversation with the admittedly fine to look at man.

"Yeah, it's Emily. What can I do for you?"

"How do you know my baby girl? I've known her a little while and she's never been that excited to see someone," Morgan asked curiously, wheeling his chair over to sit beside the desk of the newest woman on their team.

"Penelope?" the brunette questioned, quietly filing away the 'baby girl' question into the same box as the 'chocolate hunk' one to ask her friend later when they went out for a catch-up drink that had been non-negotiable on her part. "We were best friends in high school," she continued at the man's nod, shrugging lightly when she saw his silent 'what happened' question. "We lost touch. I had things going on in my life, she had things going on in hers and we just… drifted apart, I guess."

"More than that happened, though, and don't tell me I'm wrong. You work with profilers now," the man stated cockily, raising his eyebrow at her shocked look.

"Yes, more did happen, you're right, but I don't know you well enough to tell you what the more is."

* * *

"I'm so happy that you're my new kickass agent."

"I missed you too, Penelope."

After a 7am – 6pm day, Emily's first day of being an Agent at the BAU was officially finished, and the brunette woman now sat comfortably in one of the booths of the bar nearby to the office, swirling the wine around the glass in front of her as she continued her well-needed catch-up with her high school best friend.

"Of course you missed me, I'm fabulous."

"Modest too," Emily shot back with a laugh, wincing when her friend playfully hit her arm.

"I will let you get away with that, but only because I want to know how your gorgeous daughter is doing. She's got to be eighteen now, right?" the perky blonde dismissed quickly, her smile wide at the thought of hearing about the things she had missed in the life of her friends daughter.

"Yeah, she's eighteen now," Emily confirmed, her own smile widening at the thought of her daughter. "It's honestly terrifying how fast it's gone. Sometimes I wish she was still a baby, but she's done so much… she's done so well in school, and I wouldn't change any of it."

"I can't believe I missed so much. You have no idea how much I loved my cuddles with your gorgeous baby," Garcia admitted with a huff, pouting lightly as she remembered leaving her friend when she had needed her the most.

"Garcia, you wouldn't let her go whenever you were around," Emily recalled, laughing at her friends soft pout. "I have a pretty good idea how much you liked the cuddles."

"Fair enough. What about your hunk of a boyfriend? You two are still being cute and adorable all of the time, right?" Garcia asked next, crinkling her eyebrows as Emily shrunk back into her seat and flicked her eyes away from her. "What? What happened?"

"Nothing happened, we just… broke up," the brunette explained vaguely, sighing when she saw her friends 'carry on' look. "Being with him was good, it was… easy and it was simple, but we were together for the wrong reasons. Our relationship was good, but we were best friends, and as much as I loved him… I loved him as my best friend," she continued, shrugging as she tried to come up with how to finish her explanation. "To this day I don't have a clue why the fifteen year old, eight month pregnant girl was the one he wanted. Don't get me wrong, the fact that he stayed despite everything and the fact that he was a father to my daughter made me love him so much more, but we didn't work. We're friends; we don't… work as a couple."

"But you were so cute! You, him and Kayla were like this really adorable little family, Em."

"He's never left Kayla, Penelope. He and I might not talk so much anymore but he's always been there for Kayla."

"I can't believe you're on your own, though, Em. You deserve better than that."

"Penelope, I'm okay."

As much as she loved her friend, and she did, despite the length of time it had been since they had seen each other, Emily knew that once Penelope got even the slightest whiff of her being alone, she wouldn't let it go.

"I'm really okay, and I don't need a guy when I have my daughter. I don't need to go home to a guy when I can go home and curl up on the sofa with my daughter and talk about our days," the brunette said honestly, smiling up at her friend. "I'm not on my own, I've got Kayla. As long as I've got my daughter I don't need anything else, and speaking of which, I should go home."

"Aw, you really have to go?"

"I really have to go, because it's Friday, and Friday is movie night. You could come, though, if you like," Emily offered, not at all surprised as her friend almost instantly threw enough money on the table for their drinks before standing and picking up her bag.

"Well? What are you still sitting there for? Let's go, gumdrop!"

Laughing softly, Emily stood and picked up her own bag and coat, making a mental note to pay for their next round of drinks as she allowed the extremely excited Penelope to all but drag her out of the bar, neither woman noticing the familiar face sitting in the booth behind theirs, having heard everything that they had shared.

* * *

I know that most of you are probably going to get the wrong idea about the ending, so I'm just going to go right ahead and go back to my hiding place. Hopefully it won't take us so long to write the next chapter!


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: Finally! This chapter has been the biggest pain in my ass for the past three days, and it's only thanks to a bloody miracle that I haven't screamed at it and managed to actually write it instead. Oh, and Louise's help, I guess;). We now have like four more stories that we're working on, so when the next chapter of this will be up I have no idea, but it will be up eventually!

beth peschke: thank you, and no, the team won't find out that Kayla exists just yet.

* * *

_"Well? What are you still sitting there for? Let's go, gumdrop!"_

_Laughing softly, Emily stood and picked up her own bag and coat, making a mental note to pay for their next round of drinks as she allowed the extremely excited Penelope to all but drag her out of the bar, neither woman noticing the familiar face sitting in the booth behind theirs, having heard everything that they had shared._

* * *

Chapter 3.

"Mum, you've got to wake up."

"Nope. Go away."

"Mother, it's 6.50am. You're going to be late already, you're going to be even later if you don't get your ass out of bed."

Shit. That one got her attention. 6.50am? How had she managed to sleep in for that long? She couldn't be late in her first week at the BAU! Quickly throwing her duvet from her body, Emily sat up and kicked her legs out of her bed, grabbing the clothes she had set out the previous night and silently patting herself on the back for showering before she went to bed.

"Crap. I'm sorry, sweetie. You shouldn't have had to wake me," she apologized, scrubbing her hands over her face as she tried to wake herself for the day ahead.

"I was up anyway, it's okay. Get dressed, I'll make you a coffee; you clearly need it," the younger brunette dismissed with a smile, pushing herself up from sitting on the end of the bed and moving towards the door to let her mother change, flicking on the light and shutting the door as she left.

"I would lose my head without that girl," Emily muttered with a sigh, making another mental note to take Kayla to their favourite restaurant as she quickly tried to get changed, running her hairbrush through her hair and applying her normal amount of make-up before rushing down the stairs and into the kitchen. "God, I love you," she breathed when she saw the steaming mug of coffee on the table.

"I'm your daughter, you have to love me whether I make you coffee or not."

"I suppose so. Right, I really do love you, and I promise that we're going to our restaurant at some point soon, because you deserve it, but I have to go to work."

"Damn right I do," Kayla shot back with a laugh, accepting her mother's hug but squirming when she felt a kiss on her cheek. "Don't be mushy, go to work."

"I'll be mushy if I want to be, and I'm going, I'm going," Emily said, rolling her eyes playfully as she picked up her bag, coat and the cup of coffee that Kayla had made. "Love you!"

"Love you too, crazy lady," the teenager replied instantly, laughing once more when she heard the door slam shut.

* * *

"Well good morning, Princess, it's nice of you to join us finally. Someone keep you up last night, did they?"

Princess? What was it with Derek Morgan and nicknames? Rolling her eyes as she dropped her bag down onto her desk, Emily sighed and fought back the yawn that threatened to escape, feeling Penelope move up next to her having obviously pulled herself from the conversation she had been having with Morgan before she arrived.

"Yeah, my eighteen year old daughter wanting to know everything there possibly is to know about the team I've known for just over a week," the brunette muttered quietly, flicking a glare up towards the perky blonde beside her when she heard her chuckle. "Shut up."

"Oh, pumpkin. You really need to get a love life," Garcia shot back, choosing to ignore her friends comment and make her own instead. "But that, my friend, is a conversation for another day, because you kicked ass on your first case. You even impressed the bossman," she added, nodding proudly as she perched herself on the edge of Emily's desk. "That's not easy to do, you know."

"I did my job, Penelope. I just did what I was trained to do; I didn't do all of that FBI training for nothing. I didn't join to impress people."

"You never did take compliments well," the blonde said with a huff, rolling her eyes as Emily ignored her words and sat down at her desk. "Seriously, though, Em; Hotch was impressed with you on that case, and at the briefing when you translated that whole letter like it was nothing? You kicked ass, my girl."

Was she going to stop anytime soon? Emily loved Penelope, she did, but in the few short days that they had been back in contact, Emily had realised that the blonde had become even more perky than she had been, and if she was honest, ten times scarier too.

"We got a new case."

Oh, thank god. JJ's voice had not been more welcomed in the little time she had been at the BAU than it was then, and Emily had to resist the urge to sigh in relief as she picked up her phone and followed the rest of the team into the conference room, thankful for small miracles when the only seat left was one between Rossi and Morgan, on the opposite side of the table to Garcia's questioning.

"What've we got, JJ?" Hotch questioned as he walked into the room, taking his own seat on the other side of Morgan and opening the file that JJ slid over to him.

"Five girls have been found murdered and dumped in parks around Phoenix, Arizona," the blonde began, her eyes avoiding the images she flicked up onto the screen as she spoke. "The first was Stephanie Edwards, sixteen. Just over six weeks ago she was found in the nature trail in Encanto Park by an early morning dog walker. Coroner's report says that the UnSub raped her, as far as he can tell only once. The word 'disgusting' had been carved onto her thigh, but with the lack of blood he suggests that it was done post-mortem, after he had asphyxiated her," she explained to them, biting back the bile that rose in her throat at the description of what had happened to the young girl. "The second victim, Kate Thompson, fifteen, was kidnapped on her way home from school the day after Stephanie's body had been found. She was found in Phoenix Mountain Reserve with the same injuries and the same cause of death a week after her disappearance. Third was Sophie Walklate, also fifteen," JJ continued, sighing softly as the details of the case ran through her head. "She was taken the day after Kate's body was found and she was found a week later in Papago Park. Same injuries, same cause of death. That timeline has continued with the latest two victims, Nicola Malner, sixteen and Jennifer Winterson, also sixteen."

"And we're only being called in now?" Rossi questioned, him too feeling slightly sick at what somebody had done to the girls.

"They said that they could handle it, but yesterday another girl went missing; Amelia Brooks, fifteen."

"Is there anything that connects the girls? They're completely different people. Different eye colour, different hair colour, varying ages. There's nothing that connects them," Reid cut in quietly, his eyebrows furrowed as he flipped over the pages of the file in front of him.

"There's a connection, yes," JJ confirmed briefly, picking up the remote and flicking to the next slide, containing photographs of all six victims, dead and missing, with babies in their arms. "All of our victims are teenage mothers."

"I'm sorry what?" Emily stuttered out quietly, her stomach churning as her eyes flicked between the happy images on the screen and the sickly images in the file in front of her. "He's killing these girls because they're teenage mothers?"

"It looks that way, yes," the blonde agreed, her eyes widening when she watched Emily all but bolt from the room with her hand covering her mouth, Garcia following swiftly behind. "What did I say?"

* * *

This chapter actually hurt to write, so even the smallest review is loved!


	4. Chapter 4

A/N - Where this update has come from I have no idea, I planned to write another chapter of my Grey's Anatomy story before I updated this again, but hey ho. Things don't always happen as I plan them to.

* * *

_"I'm sorry what?" Emily stuttered out quietly, her stomach churning as her eyes flicked between the happy images on the screen and the sickly images in the file in front of her. "He's killing these girls because they're teenage mothers?"_

_"It looks that way, yes," the blonde agreed, her eyes widening when she watched Emily all but bolt from the room with her hand covering her mouth, Garcia following swiftly behind. "What did I say?"_

* * *

Chapter 4.

Shameless. Disgusting. Whore. Those were only three of the words that the UnSub had carved into the victims thighs; the only three Emily had managed to read before she had bolted towards the bathroom. She wasn't so sure she wanted to know what the other two were either. Barely managing to push the door closed behind her, the brunette slid down the wall of the cubicle, taking deep breaths to try and calm herself so that she could go back out to the team; she wasn't weak and she didn't want to be seen that way.

"Emily?"

Of course Penelope had followed her. She should have known. "I'm okay, Penelope. I'll be out in a minute," Emily replied quietly, closing her eyes when the cubicle door creaked open and she remembered that she had only shut and not locked it. "I'm fine."

"Pumpkin, you went as white as a ghost when JJ told us the connection. This hits too close to home, you're not fine," the normally perky blonde shot back with a sigh, pushing the door open fully and moving to kneel beside her friend. "It's okay to be affected by this, you know."

"Garcia, please just give me a minute, okay? I'll be out in a second."

"Uh-uh, pumpkin. Talk to me. You'll feel better," Garcia denied softly, knowing how Emily felt about the subject.

"I just..." Emily began, stopping with a huff and shrugging when her words seemed to simply disappear. "They're me, Garcia. I was these girls, and..." she decided eventually, sighing shakily as she looked up at her friend. "Those babies, Penelope. They're going to grow up without their mum's just because they had a baby too young for someone's liking, and it just makes me wonder... what would have happened to Kayla if something had happened to me?"

"I get that, pumpkin," Garcia said with a nod, dropping her hand on top of Emily's to silently urge her to continue.

"This UnSub is basically killing me, Garcia. Less than two weeks in and I fit the victimology, because I was these girls when I was a teenager."

"Can you work this one? I can tell them that you're sick and that I sent you-" Garcia began, stopping when she saw Emily shake her head adamantly.

"No. I'm working this. I have to," Emily said quickly, taking another breath before pushing herself up from the ground. "This is my first couple of weeks at the BAU. I can't back out - this is what I've always wanted, and..." she continued, avoiding her friends eyes as she stepped around her and out of the cubicle. "I couldn't do anything about the people that were cruel about my pregnancy, but I can damn sure help these girls. I can help to find the person who's taking them away from their children and ending their lives."

* * *

"Agent Jareau?"

"That's me. These are Agents Rossi, Morgan and Prentiss, Doctor Reid and our Unit Chief Agent Hotchner."

"Thank you for coming out so soon. We thought we had a handle on it but this guy's getting out of control."

After the five hour flight to Phoenix, the team were now standing on the airstrip with the detective that had asked for their help; the detective that could have had their help weeks before and possibly saved young girls lives in the process.

"Let's just hope we manage to end this before there's another child without its mother," Rossi said gruffly, holding back his glare at the detective for not calling them sooner.

"I'm not saying these girls had to die, Agent, but don't you think those babies deserve better than someone who's still a kid themselves?" the detective questioned as he lead the Agents towards the SUV's, completely missing the fire in Emily's eyes at his comment.

"With all due respect, Detective, it isn't your place to judge them unless you know their story," Emily told him quickly, not stopping to wait for any kind of reply before picking her go-bag up from the floor and getting into the nearest SUV.

* * *

"Hotch, we've got a problem."

It had been nearly three hours since the BAU team had landed in Phoenix, Arizona, and most of that time they had spent in the small, uncomfortable, musty room that the Phoenix Police Department had been generous enough to give to them, pouring over file after file in hopes to find a lead in the case.

"What is it, JJ?"

"The coroners report just came in for Jennifer Winterson, the latest victim. He's escalating."

"Escalating how?"

"The coroner found water in her lungs and bruises on her chest from CPR. He's drowning them and bringing them back to life," JJ told him, sliding the file in her hands across to him.

"Okay," Hotch said simply, sighing as he quickly skimmed over the words on the page. "Morgan and Prentiss, I want you two to go to the coroners office and see if there's anything else that you can find out about what might have happened to the girls while they were with the Unsub," he ordered as an after-thought, his eyes already fixed back down at the files before he could see Emily's quickly-covered horrified expression.

"Yes sir."

* * *

"Hey, Princess, is everything okay?"

"Girls are being murdered because they have children, Morgan. Of course everything isn't okay," Emily snapped back, closing her eyes and sighing when she realised how harsh she had been. "I'm sorry, I just... they never had the chance to prove that they could be mother's to their children despite their age."

"Do you really think they could do it?" Morgan shot back, raising his eyebrow as he turned to look briefly at his new partner.

What was it with her team judging before they even knew the full story? Of course Emily knew that they were all entitled to their own opinions, but the girls had been murdered and all the detective could talk about was how much 'better off' their children would be with a mother who was older. It was frustrating as hell!

"Yes, Derek, I think they could have done it if someone hadn't decided that they didn't even deserve the chance," she told him with a sigh, turning her head towards the window so that he didn't see her emotions before she managed to put them into their box.

"Okay, okay," Morgan relented, glancing over at his new partner once more before focusing back on the road. "It's good that you have faith despite all of the darkness; that's a rare trait in this line of work."

"Yeah, well," the brunette began, sighing again and lowering her voice so that her next words couldn't be heard. "Barely anybody had faith in me and I managed to raise a perfect little girl."

* * *

Okay, so... yeah. I can watch the cases but I can't write them for the life of me, so how this is going to end up I have no idea.


	5. Chapter 5

A/N -So this took longer to get up than I expected it to, but it's up now. It honestly did my head in to write, so hopefully it's acceptable! I do apologise now, though; I've been up since 3am and I'm still high from the fact that Sarah Drew tweeted me this morning, so if there are any spelling mistakes or things that don't make sense, blame Sarah, she's turned my brain to mush.

* * *

Chapter 5.

"What are we thinking? Is this guy just seriously against these girls having children or what? We've profiled his age and everything else but why is he doing this in the first place?"

The BAU team had been in Phoenix for two days, and yet they were still in the same place they had been when they arrived; practically clueless with no idea who the UnSub was or where he was keeping Amelia Brooks. Sleeping time had been limited in the rush to solve the case before another child was without its mother and another girl lost her life, and not one member of the team was complaining about the open-twenty-four-seven coffee shop just across the street from the Police Department.

"Have we considered the idea that these girls could be substitutes in some way?" JJ questioned, nursing the cup of coffee in front of her as she fought back a yawn.

"There aren't that many similarities in looks, though. Stephanie, Nicola and Jennifer were brunette, Kate and Sophie were blonde, they were varying ages... if they were surrogates surely they'd all be similar in looks," Reid shot back, his eyes quickly scanning over the file for what seemed to be the hundredth time though he already had it memorised.

"What if their appearance doesn't matter? It might not be the girl that he's angry at, it might be what they've done," Rossi cut in, he too fighting back a yawn as the pages in front of him began to blur.

"When you're a teenage mother people treat you differently to what they did before," Emily said with a sigh, not moving her eyes from the file in front of her as she spoke. "The people who don't believe in premarital sex look at you like you've broken the law and those who don't care about that generally treat you like crap," she added, feeling all of their eyes turn towards her as she continued to talk. "Have we considered the fact that this guy is taking his religion to the extreme?"

* * *

"Bossman, if this is not your guy then I vow to never wear anything pink again," Garcia's voice spoke over the phone quickly, her keyboard taps loud in the background. "Kyle Whickes, 35. This guy is the definition of religion nut. He's started who knows how many protests and he has priors for vandalism and assault, according to him they were all done 'in the name of God', and get this; there's a clinic that works mainly with young mothers, and he started a protest outside of it with boards containing words too bad for my pretty little mouth to say. He does not agree with sex before marriage, clearly. Maybe someone should remind him that one of the ten commandments is 'thou shalt not kill', because he's clearly forgotten that one."

"Baby girl, have you got an-"

"Address for you? My chocolate hunk, you doubt me. His address is on it's way to your phones as we speak," the blonde cut in, not giving any of them a chance to respond before cutting off the call.

"Let's move."

* * *

"There's a car outside so I'm assuming that he's in there."

"We don't know where, though, and if he has the girl we don't know where she is either. Morgan, JJ, Rossi, you three take the back, Reid, Prentiss and I will take the front. We go in quietly until we have an idea of the situation, got it?" Hotch ordered firmly, nodding when he received a murmur of agreements.

The house that they were currently walking towards was not one that anybody would normally think of when thinking of the place a killer kept his victims. The garden was clearly well cared for, and it seemed like every other average house in the neighbourhood. How had someone so seemingly normal ended up murdering teenage girls?

While the rest of the team's minds were focused completely on the case, Emily couldn't help but let her mind wander slightly, though not enough to be a distraction, and walking into the house after it had been opened as silently as possible, she wondered what they were going to find inside. Was Amelia still alive, or were they going to be informing the young girls parents that she wouldn't be coming home again? She hoped it was the first option; she didn't want to think about another child losing his mother. She couldn't focus on that, though; she had to be positive and she knew it, so she quickly shut off her mind again and concentrated on clearing the downstairs rooms, whispering a soft 'clear' into the microphone once she had cleared her room.

"Hotch, there's shuffling coming from upstairs."

Morgan's voice into her ear piece quickly stopped her from drifting into her thoughts once more and the brunette agent jumped into action, holding her gun up before her as she followed the rest of the team up the stairs, slowly clearing the rooms one by one until there were only two left. Watching Hotch's quick hand gestures, Emily nodded along with the rest of the team as they understood his instructions; the teams they had split into before would split to check the final two rooms, nobody was going in alone. Taking a breath, she followed the older man down the corridor, pulling open the door while he held his gun in place, the smell of the room immediately hitting them as she moved around the door to follow Hotch inside.

The scene they found inside was one for sore eyes; blood covering the floor from what they assumed was when he carved the words into the girls and the small, frail looking body of who they assumed was Amelia Brooks, curled up in the corner, shaking. At least she was alive, but where was Whickes?

Sharing a look with Hotch, Emily quickly holstered her gun and moved over to the clearly terrified girl, bending down beside her while Hotch and Reid covered her in case Whickes came back.

"Amelia?" she said softly, smiling when the young girls head slowly lifted. "Hi, sweetie. My name's Emily. Can you answer a question for me?" she added, holding out her hand when the girl looked at her fearfully. "It's okay, I'm here to help you. I'm going to get you out of here, I just need you to tell me where the man who took you is."

"I don't know," the young girl told her quietly, her eyes flicking around the room nervously as she lifted a shaky hand to slide it into Emily's. "I want to go home."

"I know, and we'll make that happen as soon as possible. How long ago did he leave?" Emily questioned, her head swinging towards the middle of the room when she heard Hotch's voice, instinctively moving in front of Amelia when she saw their UnSub in the doorway, both Hotch and Reid's guns pointed at him.

"Kyle Whickes, put down the knife," Hotch ordered, he too stepping backwards to block Amelia from the man's view.

"Or what? You'll shoot me?"

"If that's what is necessary, yes."

"I'm doing this world a favour! Sex before marriage is a sin!"

"Thousands of people have sex before marriage, Kyle. Maybe it's what you believe in, but not everybody does," Hotch told him, watching as JJ, Morgan and Rossi moved into the room, effectively putting a circle around the man.

"Put the knife down, man. You've got nowhere else to go," Morgan cut in, not flinching as the man quickly turned around, his knife flailing. "You're done. It's over. Put down the knife," he said again, quickly holstering his own gun and pulling out his handcuffs when the knife hit the ground with a clatter. "You're under arrest."

"I want to go home. I want my baby."

Quickly turning at the young girl's voice, Emily stood and slowly helped her up, wrapping her arm around her waist and guiding her out of the room. "I know, sweetie. We're going to get you to the hospital and have you checked out, and we'll get your parents to meet us there, okay?"

"No!" Amelia protested quickly, finally allowing her tears to fall. "I'm

not going to the hospital until I've seen my son. I want my baby boy."

"Amelia, you're hurt. I know that you want your son but-" Emily began, stopping as she helped the young girl sit down onto the back of the ambulance. "You need to get checked out."

"Please. I just want my baby. I need to know that my baby's okay."

"Your son is fine, Amelia, but okay. Stay here and let the paramedic take care of you, and I'll get your parents here," the brunette agent relented with a sigh, squeezing the young girls hand before leaving her in the capable hands of the, thankfully female, paramedic and walking over to the detective she had quickly come to despise during their time in Phoenix. "I need you to direct her parents here instead of the hospital."

"Why's that?"

"She wants to see her son and make sure he's okay."

"She's the one that's been kidnapped for the past three days," the detective shot back, looking down at Emily as he turned to face her properly. "Shouldn't she be worrying about getting herself checked over?"

"She should, and she would, but she's a mother, and no matter how old you are you put your child first. When you have a child, no matter your age, you become the second priority," Emily replied with a shrug, her gaze returning to the young girl sitting in the back of the ambulance while the detective made a phone call.

"You've taken this case pretty hard," the detective noted as he slipped his phone back into his pocket, nodding towards Amelia as Emily turned. "I've never seen anybody defend someone they didn't know so quickly," he added, his eyebrows furrowing as he watched the Agent's reactions. "Wait a second... were you...?"

"Stupid enough to get myself pregnant as a teenager?" Emily finished with a sigh, taking note of his flinch as she repeated his words back to him. "Yes, but the way I see it, getting pregnant at fifteen might not have been planned, but it was sure as hell the best thing I ever did, because my daughter is my world," she told him honestly, turning her head once more when she heard car doors slam, seeing Amelia's parents running over to the ambulance, Amelia's son with them.

"Well would you look at that," the detective said softly, his eyes too fixed on watching Amelia quickly taking her son into her arms and holding him tightly. "That kid has barely stopped crying for days."

"He doesn't have to cry anymore, he's back in his mum's arms," Emily explained, pulling her phone out of her pocket and smiling at the detective as she went to move away. "It's times like this you learn that you shouldn't judge a book by its cover."

* * *

So... there we go. Even one-word reviews mean a lot!


	6. Chapter 6

A/N -Okay, so I'm aware this has taken a while to update, but Louise and I have been working on our mountain (so not an exaggeration) of other stories, and I have been working on chapters for my two new stories, which I'm fully aware I have no business starting when I have this and Stay With Me, but still. This is updated now, but I have no idea when the next update will be.

* * *

_"He doesn't have to cry anymore, he's back in his mum's arms," Emily explained, pulling her phone out of her pocket and smiling at the detective as she went to move away. "It's times like this you learn that you shouldn't judge a book by its cover."_

* * *

Chapter 6.

"How did you know all of that stuff about being a teenage mother?"

Once the UnSub had been taken into custody and the team had checked that Amelia had gotten to the hospital and been checked out, the team had decided that instead of staying the night in Phoenix they would simply fly home that night, so two hours later they were all tiredly gathered on the jet waiting for it to take off, JJ breaking the silence that had taken over them by asking the question that she knew they all wanted to know the answer to.

"I mean... I can imagine how hard it must be to be that young and have a child, but the way you said it..."

There was the question she had been expecting; the question about her comments while they were discussing the UnSubs reasons. Before her first day at the BAU she had decided that her teenage pregnancy and her daughter would be topics that she wouldn't discuss, but now she had put her foot into her mouth and mentioned it, she knew that she wouldn't get away with not saying anything, and working around a group of profilers, lying wasn't an option either.

"Personal experience," she said with a shrug, sighing quietly at the blonde woman's simple raised eyebrow and jumping when the laptop on the table between her and JJ beeped loudly.

"Hello, my beautiful crime solvers. Who has personal experience in what?" the perky blonde asked, smiling brightly as the rest of the team gathered around the laptop.

"Apparently Emily has personal experience in being a teenage mother, but I don't see how. You don't have a child," Reid commented, watching Garcia's eyes widen almost comically.

"Peaches, I thought you weren't telling them?"

"I wasn't," the brunette agreed with a sigh, shrugging as Garcia looked at her questioningly and turning back towards the team. "I was fifteen and I wanted to fit in. I could have found a better way but I didn't and I ended up pregnant," she told them honestly, feeling all eyes move from the laptop to her. "My baby girl was born eight days after my sixteenth birthday, and as scared as I was she's my world."

"You have... wow. Did my baby girl know?"

"Know? Of course I knew, my chocolate thunder!" Garcia told him with a scoff, her head shaking disbelievingly as she took a sip from the mug of what was probably coffee in front of her. "The cuddles I got with her gorgeous baby girl were always the highlight of my day," she recalled excitedly, completely missing the looks passed between the profilers and the groan Emily let out as she remembered the few short months when she had spent nearly every waking moment with the Prentiss girls. "I swear, no kid could compare to the adorableness that is Kayla Mae Prentiss, and she's ten times as gorgeous now, just like her momma. It always astounded me how a little girl as sick as Kayla was could be so happy and full of life, but she had an awesome momma, so-"

"Penelope!" Emily cut in eventually, not able to stop her laugh as the blonde stopped mid-sentence, her mouth hanging open comically. "We get it, sweetie, but I'm pretty sure they're too busy judging me to care about how adorable my kid is."

That wasn't what she wanted to think that the team were doing; she didn't want to think that they were just like most other people and immediately judged her when they found out about her teenage pregnancy, but she couldn't help it. That was what she was used to. Emily wasn't used to people simply accepting her for what she'd done in the past, as that happened very rarely. Instead she was used to ignoring the looks and fighting to prove herself.

"I can do this job. You might all think less of me because I had my daughter when I was barely sixteen, but I can do this job. My abilities aren't damaged because of my age when I had my daughter, and-" the brunette began, her pre-prepared speech cut off by the blonde sitting across from her.

"Emily, in the short time you've been in the BAU you've already proven that you can do this job and that you're damn good at it," the younger woman told her with a smile, receiving a chorus of hums and nods in agreement from the rest of the team. "They found out about my past battles with self-harm and I was afraid that they'd judge me for that, but they don't. You being a young mother isn't something we're going to judge," she added honestly, smiling wider as the brunette seemed to visibly relax at not having to prove or defend herself.

"I told you, gumdrop. You're a part of this family, and your beautiful girl is too."

* * *

"Hey, you're back. I didn't expect you home until tomorrow."

Once the team had landed back in Virginia, Emily had stopped by the BAU only briefly enough to pick up the files she needed to finish before she had quickly made her way home with plans of taking a bath and then spending time with her daughter, if she was still awake. The thoughts of the girls they had lost and the one they had saved still ran through her head like a tape on repeat, and no matter how much she tried, she couldn't seem to get them to stop.

"Yeah, we decided to just fly back tonight," the brunette told her daughter with a shrug, dropping her go-bag onto the floor and kicking off her shoes.

"Is everything okay? You look kind of… down," Kayla noticed, flicking the TV onto mute and pulling her knees to her chest so that her mother had room to sit down. "Was it bad?"

"Yeah, it was bad," Emily confirmed with a sigh, thankful for the space on the sofa as she dropped herself down and rested her head into her hands. "It was really bad."

"What can I do?"

"I don't… you shouldn't have to do anything," the older Prentiss said simply, smiling when Kayla shifted up the sofa and hugged her tightly. "This works too, I suppose."

"It better do, I don't do mushy for just anyone, you know," Kayla shot back with a grin, thankful when she heard her mother's laughter.

"I did okay, didn't I?"

What? Where had that come from? Pulling back from the hug, Kayla dropped her gaze down to meet her mother's, crinkling her eyebrows when she saw the sadness and questioning.

"What do you mean?"

"Raising you… being your mum when I was only a kid myself. I did okay, right? You don't… resent me or whatever for having you when I was so young?" Emily asked quietly, feeling pathetic for asking her child such a thing but needing to know the answer after the case they had just finished.

"Okay, mum, I don't know where the heck this has all come from, but I don't resent you. I've never resented you. You're the best mum I could ever ask for, and you always have been, fifteen or not," Kayla told her honestly, her lips turning up in a smile as her mother looked up. "I don't know what happened on that case to make you think that you weren't and aren't a good mum, but you need to forget it, because it isn't true."

"Okay…"

How was it that whatever Kayla said made her feel better? No matter what it was, even when she was mocking and teasing relentlessly, Kayla's words always made Emily feel better, and it made her grateful every day that she had such an amazing daughter and that she had made the choice she had when she had gotten pregnant.

"I do love you, you know. A heck of a lot," she said with a smile, laughing softly at her daughter's grimace.

"Okay, hugging is an acceptable amount of mushy, but now you're pushing it," Kayla teased back, she too laughing when Emily swatted her arm. "I know you do, mum, and I love you too, however…" she continued, fully prepared for the second hit she would get for her next comment. "You do need to go shower, because you smell like death and sadness, and it sucks."

"You're such a child," Emily said with a chuckle, rolling her eyes though she stood and moved towards the door. "And for your information, death and sadness aren't even scents, so you're just making stuff up now."

* * *

So there we go; the team know about Kayla, but they won't meet her yet. The thing with JJ wasn't actually planned, I think it was just something I was thinking about at the time so it ended up being written. Thank you for all of your lovely reviews, and I'm sorry if I've not replied to you personally!


	7. Chapter 7

A/N - This chapter is set two weeks after the case. I hadn't originally planned for the team to actually meet Kayla yet, I wanted that to happen later, but we were seriously stuck for ideas on what to write, so we moved it up slightly. Speaking of which, if you have any ideas on what you'd like to see happen, feel free to leave them in a review, because although we have plans, they don't fall until much later in the story, so right now we don't really have a lot to go on.

* * *

_"You're such a child," Emily said with a chuckle, rolling her eyes though she stood and moved towards the door. "And for your information, death and sadness aren't even scents, so you're just making stuff up now."_

* * *

Chapter 7.

"Well hello there, pretty lady."

"Yeah, hi. I'm looking for Emily? Prentiss, I mean. Emily Prentiss. Do you know where she is?"

"Not currently, but for a beautiful woman like you I can find out."

Wow. Her mother really hadn't been kidding when she had told her that her partner at work - Derek Morgan - was, although admittedly nice to look at, willing to flirt with every female with a pulse. Biting back her laugh when she realised that the older man clearly had no idea who he was talking to, Kayla quickly pushed her thoughts to the back of her head and smiled up at the man, already looking forward to how this would end.

"Well thank you," she said sweetly, following him through the bullpen as he tried to find her mother, though she could clearly tell that he was taking his time. "Do you know her?"

"Princess? Of course. She might be new but damn, that woman can kick criminal ass," Morgan told her, turning his head and flashing a smile at the younger brunette as he slowly made his way to Emily's desk, where she had been when he had left his own desk only a few minutes before. "Is there something specific that you need her for?"

"Uh... kind of," the younger Prentiss admitted briefly, mentally grimacing as she anticipated her mother's reaction to what she was there to tell her.

"Okay then. Well this is her desk, but..." Morgan began, turning around to face the younger woman as he realised that his new partner's desk was now empty. "As you can see, she isn't. Do you want to wait here for her to get back or would you like me to go and find her?"

"It's okay, I'll wait here," Kayla dismissed, dropping herself down into her mother's desk chair and propping her feet on the desk. "Thank you, though. This place is like a maze, it would have taken me hours to find it."

"I couldn't leave a pretty lady like you not knowing where you were going, I was happy to help," the man said with a wink, tapping the younger woman's foot as he leaned against his own desk. "She might kill you for that."

"Eh, her wanting to kill me is nothing new," Kayla replied with a shrug, flicking her eyes over the man's shoulder and noticing her mother walking towards them. "Your death will happen before mine, though," she added under her breath, quiet enough that he hadn't heard her.

"How do you know her, anyway?" Morgan questioned, turning as he watched her eyes flick behind him. "Hey, Prentiss, this pretty lady's looking for you," he yelled to the other Agent, watching as she quickly looked up at his voice.

"Oh no…"

The paperwork in her hands that she had been reading forgotten, Emily glared at the man perched against his desk, her steps quickening as she made her way back over to her desk. Dropping her files onto the already huge pile, she picked up her daughter's feet and dropped them to the floor, shaking her head playfully as she received a laugh for her efforts.

"Derek Morgan, if you were flirting with her then I swear to god, run now," she threatened, her hand dropping to her hip as she moved her gaze from her guilty-looking daughter to him.

"What, it's wrong to flirt with gorgeous ladies now?" Morgan questioned, his eyebrows crinkling as the younger brunette that he had been flirting with snickered before covering her mouth to block the sound.

"When that 'gorgeous lady' is my eighteen year old daughter? Yes, it's wrong, so please, for your own safety, tell me you weren't flirting with her," the older brunette shot back, biting back her own laugh as she watched Morgan's eyes widen comically, realising that Kayla hadn't actually made it known who she was.

"Oh shit… Princess, I had no idea. I mean... she didn't tell me she was your kid!" the man tried to explain, his mouth opening to talk again, though he quickly closed it when Emily held up her hand.

"Oh, I have no doubt that she didn't tell you," Emily agreed, turning around to her daughter and pointing playfully. "You are just as bad as he is for not telling him."

"Oh, come on, it's funny. The look on his face right now is freaking hilarious, and I know you, mother; you're laughing on the inside," the younger Prentiss shot back, though she turned to the man with an apologetic smile. "Sorry, but I know she's going to kill me for why I'm actually here, I wanted to get some fun in."

"Two Prentiss'… god, we're screwed," Morgan breathed, shaking his head as he moved to sit down at his own desk, the chuckles of both women not missed.

"Speaking of which, why are you here?" Emily questioned, deciding that she could continue glaring at her partner once her daughter had left, turning back to Kayla and watching as she shrunk back into the chair. "Alright, out with it. What have you done and how much is it going to cost to fix?"

"I love the faith you have in me, mum, really. It's comforting."

"You look guilty. I have faith in you when you don't look guilty. What did you do?"

"I, uh… Imayormaynothaveburntdownthe kitchen," Kayla told her quickly, grimacing as she waited for her mother's reaction to her confession, though she already had her defense worked out.

"You did what?!" Emily yelled, not noticing that the rest of her team had come out from their respective offices at her loud outburst, or that the rest of the Agents in the bullpen were now looking their way.

"I kind of burnt down the kitchen…" the younger brunette repeated, almost laughing as her mother's jaw opened and closed, no words escaping. "But you can't yell at me, because a) it's your fault I suck at cooking anyway, because so do you, and b) you burnt down the kitchen three weeks after we moved in, so…"

* * *

Up on the catwalk, Rossi, Hotch and JJ stood silently, their arms resting on the railings, as the three of them tried to work out what in the world was going on in the bullpen. At hearing Emily's yelled 'you did what?!', all three had rushed from their offices to investigate.

"What's going on, peaches?" Garcia questioned as she climbed the stairs to join them, not noticing Kayla in the bullpen as she had come from the opposite side, her arm bumping JJ's to pull the younger woman out of her trance.

"Huh? Oh, I have no idea," the blonde admitted with a shrug, nodding towards the bullpen as she continued. "I have no idea, all I heard was Emily yell, but when I was walking back to my office I saw Morgan flirting with the girl sitting at Emily's desk, and I don't think Emily was happy about it."

"What girl?" Garcia asked, her spinning to face where JJ had nodded, her eyes widening when she saw Kayla sitting in Emily's chair and put the pieces together. "Oh no. He did not flirt with my girl," she said simply, rushing down to the desks as fast as she could in her heels, her hand colliding with the back of Morgan's head as she walked past. "Derek Morgan, flirting with my girl is not acceptable, got it? I know that she probably didn't tell you that she's Em's kid, but really; she looks just like her, so you could have worked it out. Keep your flirtatious ways away from my girl, or a smack to the back of the head will be the least of your worries."

"Okay, okay! Jeez," Morgan complained, huffing as he glared at the now laughing teenager. "You have one hell of a protective shield, kid."

"What can I say, being a sick baby has its advantages later in life," the brunette told him with a shrug, rolling her eyes playfully at her mother and aunt's protectiveness. "Add to that the fact that my mum carries a gun, I'm pretty much set for life."

"Anybody hurts you, you come to me and I'll make it look like they never even existed," Garcia promised, dropping her hands to Kayla's shoulders and squeezing them gently. "Hey, Em, how about properly introducing the team to our girl?"

"Our girl? You know I'm the one that had to deal with her wriggling and kicking for nine months, right?"

"Oh, hush. Are you going to introduce them or not?" the blonde pushed, excitedly gesturing for the rest of the team to come down when Emily nodded. "Yay! Our girl will be an official member of the BAU family."

"Emily? Is everything okay?" JJ questioned as she, Hotch and Rossi reached the desks that their team were crowded around, quickly moving some files before perching herself on the edge of Reid's desk.

"I need a new kitchen, again, but yeah, everything's fine," Emily answered honestly, smirking as her daughter winced at the reminded. "I just thought… well, I was bullied into introducing you to my daughter properly considering she's here, though I would have done it anyway had miss impatient given me a chance."

"This is your daughter?"

"This is my daughter."

"Mother, you know that's not an actual introduction, right?" Kayla cut in cheekily, smiling sweetly at her mother's glare.

"Okay, that's definitely her daughter," Rossi commented with a chuckle, only laughing harder when Emily's glare turned in his direction.

"Oh, what is this, pick on the new Agent? Right, guys, this is my daughter Kayla. Kayla, these are Agent's-"

"Ah, hold it right there. You're family, peaches. We do first names with family, not FBI titles," Garcia cut in with a smile, hearing the rest of the team murmur their agreement.

"Okay, okay. Kayla, these are my friends, Jennifer Jareau, or JJ as she insists people call her, Spencer Reid, our very own genius. David Rossi is the smart mouth over there, and beside him is Aaron Hotchner, or Hotch, and then there's Mr. 'flirts with everything that moves' Derek Morgan," the brunette introduced, pointing to each of the team as she said their names.

"Hi," Kayla said simply, her eyes quickly scanning across the team that she had just been introduced to, though she quickly flashed them back when her mother's words sunk in. "Woah, hold your horses and step back a second. David Rossi? As in the 'I waited in line for three hours to buy his newest book and then you spilt coffee all over it' David Rossi?" she squealed excitedly, nodding when she saw her mother's raised eyebrow. "I'm just gonna go home and squeal alone while salvaging whatever is left of the kitchen."

* * *

Okay, so Kayla has kind of turned fangirl. I don't know how that- okay, so it probably has something to do with the fact that I was fangirling over AJ Cook and her perfection while writing this, so Kayla is basically me right now, only much, much tamer. Like I said, if you have any ideas on what you want to see happen in the next few chapters, let me know!


End file.
